After a few seasons out of the limelight, the Old Firm derby will once again be a deciding factor on who is crowned Scottish champions in 2019/20.
 

Celtic have their eyes firmly on equalling Rangers’ all-time record of 10 successive Scottish Premiership titles, having managed to dominate the league during the Gers’ financial troubles that saw them liquidate and start again at the bottom of the Scottish Football League.

That meant four seasons of no league meetings between the two, and when Rangers did return to the top flight, Celtic dominated - beating them six times in 2016/17 including three league matches, and four in 2017/18. Rangers did buck the trend last season though, winning 1-0 and 2-0 in the two league meetings at Ibrox.

And they are likely to put more pressure on the Bhoys’ dominance this year, with just two points separating the sides at the top of the table.
 

Backstopped magnificently by goalkeeper Fraser Forster, on loan from Southampton, Celtic are still led bravely by captain Scott Brown, while the likes of Callum McGregory and Leigh Griffiths have risen to prominence in recent years, alongside the almost forgotten English winger Scott Sinclair.
Progress has been steady for Rangers in Steven Gerrard’s first managerial post, and his stature has enabled them to attract the likes of former England international Jermain Defoe and ex-Liverpool pair Jon Flanagan and Ryan Kent to Ibrox.

They met recently in the Scottish League Cup final, Celtic coming out on top 1-0 to claim the silverware and deny Gerrard his first as Rangers boss - it also meant Celtic have now won the last 10 domestic trophies on offer.
The cup final win also moves Celtic within two of Rangers in the all-time meetings between the sides. They have played 419 times in competitive matches, with Rangers winning 161 to Celtic’s 159, with 99 draws.

The Glasgow pair are undoubtedly the dominating force of Scottish football, winning 104 of the Scottish League championships between them - Rangers with 54 and Celtic 50, as well as 72 Scottish Cups and 46 Scottish League Cups.
No other club has won the Scottish league title since 1986, while in all but one of the 17 seasons prior to Rangers being liquidated in 2012, they both finished in the top two.
 

The background of the rivalry is complex, with many slogans, flags, cultural symbols and logos offering differences in terms of religion, national identity and ideology. Celtic fans are historically Irish-Scots, with links to Northern Ireland and Catholicism, while Rangers fans are historically native Scots and from the Proestant community. For decades, Rangers had an unwritten rule whereby they would not knowingly sign a player of Catholic faith, a rule brought to an end by Graeme Souness when he signed ex-Celtic striker Mo Johnston.

Such a fierce rivalry, on and off the pitch, has sometimes become too intense, like when fans fought on the pitch after Celtic’s win in the 1980 Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park, which was instrumental in alcohol being banned from grounds in Scotland.

A derby in 1999, where Rangers could claim the league title with a win at Celtic Park, saw referee Hugh Dallas struck by a missile from the crowd, which led to an agreement that all games would in future played in early afternoon and it would be ensured that the title could never be decided by an Old Firm game.

There has also been controversy over the “new” Rangers, with some Celtic fans claiming that Rangers died when the club was liquidated in 2012, despite the fact that the SPFL consider it a continuation of the same club.

The next derby promises to be as intense as ever for those with Old Firm tickets, and could be seen as the first time in almost a decade that Rangers could overtake their great rivals as a result of a win.